Riverfront State Prison in Camden, which has been defunct since 2009.Courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

CAMDEN — The New Jersey Legislature has approved a bill allowing the sale of the former Riverfront State Prison site to the state Economic Development Authority, in advance of a public auction to eventually develop the land.

The legislation cleared the Assembly by a vote of 72-3 on Dec. 17, with the Senate passing the lower house’s version of the bill last week by a vote of 29-3. The bill clears the way for the sale of the 16-acre site, located north of the Ben Franklin Bridge, as state surplus to the NJEDA for $1. The authority — which in recent years spearheaded the construction of the Waterfront Technology Center in Camden — will then arrange for the sale to a “prequalified” developer.

“It’s been an empty field for about three years now, and there has been a lot of interest in that site,” said Sen. Donald Norcross, a co-sponsor of the bill, on Thursday. “It’s across from the fifth-largest city in the country, there is a gorgeous view and it’s near the waterfront.”

The New Jersey Department of Corrections operated Riverfront State Prison from August 1985 until June 2009. It was demolished in December 2009.

State officials briefly considered building a replacement prison in Cumberland County, which already houses three state facilities.

In 2007, the Bridgeton City Council opposed plans to move Riverfront’s inmates to South Woods State Prison.

In a statement released on Dec. 20, Norcross called the vacant lot a “dangerous blight on Camden’s waterfront.”

In addition to finding a buyer, the EDA will also be charged with administering the proceeds of the purchase.

According to the bill, the funds from the sale will — after deductions from the costs and fees incurred by the authority in setting up the auction — will go toward the state and the Delaware River Port Authority, which funded the demolition of the prison.

The state will receive an amount equal to the value of the property prior to the prison’s demolition.

Appraising the value of the property will be one of the EDA’s responsibilities, according to Norcross.

“This is a win-win for the city and for the developer that buys the property — it’s bringing ratables into Camden, and that is a good thing,” added the Fifth-District senator. “It’s important to North Camden that this happens.”

The primary sponsors of the bill, Fifth-District Assemblymen Angel Fuentes and Gilbert Wilson, as well as District 29 Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark), said the legislation follows the recommendation of the State House Commission, a bicameral, bipartisan commission created in 1953 to oversee state property.

“The sale of the Riverfront State Prison site means new revenue for the state from what was until now little more than an eyesore,” said Wilson in a released statement. “It will also provide new opportunities to develop and advance projects that are meaningful to Camden City at a time when resources are scarce.”